Growing concerns of transfer of infections and contaminations between users of toilets produce different hands-free solutions such as electronic remote control or manual devices for remote lifting of the seat. Bi-functional device for lifting the lid once separately from and second together with the seat is suggested in U.S. Pat. No. 6,842,916. This device comprises extendable handle that pulls a hook away from the lower side of the seat to allow separate lifting of the lid. The device attaches to the lid with a tongue and adhesive tape attached to it. While this is a bi-functional device, it requires repeated pulling out and pushing in the handle to switch between the two operations.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,619,758 describes a device for lifting toilet cover or toilet seat separately from each other, with a handle that creates a distance between the user that holds the device and the toilet bowl. The device may be distanced away from the bowl at fixed length intervals using extendable metal strip and a release button. The metal strip is used to determine the distance between the user and the toilet bowl. Although it is flexible it is not capable of transferring pressure applied on it to the clips of the device that hold to the cover or seat. Furthermore, it is not capable of transferring pressure to the lower arm of the clip separately from the upper arm, while leaving the upper arm in close contact with the upper surface of the cover or seat.
US 2014/0101833 describes a device for lifting toilet seat or cover that has a horizontal arm and two or more transverse teeth connected to the arm and are parallel each other. The device may also operate in conjunction with a rigid lever to lift the cover or seat. This mode of operation of the device is to hold the cover or seat between two teeth, lift it up by moving the lower tooth away from the lower surface and attach the upper tooth to the upper surface of the cover or seat The rigid structure of this device requires that it is distanced from the toilet bowl to exchange its hold from the cover to the seat. It is essentially rigid, which does not allow it to transfer pressure to the clip that holds to the cover or seat.
The present invention addresses the need for bi-functional touch-free toilet seat lifters having configurations different than those suggested in the prior art and that do not require excessive action for switching between states.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide bi-functional touch-free toilet seat lifter that is compact in size and requires only minimal effort in operation.
Other objects and embodiments of the present invention will become apparent as the description unfolds.